president obama has all the leverage because he knows if it goes over the fiscal cliff, tax cuts expires and he'll never let the top 2% get that tax cut reinstated. if they do what you suggested, vote the tax cut, continue it for the 98%, then the leverage switches to them come the time of the debt limit. they might be able to make a deal where they save some of it so it doesn't go up to 39%. maybe goes up to 37.5%. maybe they do the buffett rule and only raise rates on people making $500,000. they have a little room to leverage but right now they have zero leverage, zero. >> do you agree with that? i don't know if i agree with that. it's hard once the rates go back to 39.6 or whatever they go to, to go back and say, now we to want cut taxes for the rich. what's the reason to do it? the republican party says we have to stop the government, stop paying our debts, don't pay our bills anymore because we have to help out the rich now. that would be the worst situation to be in. >> as the conversation shifts really to the bottom line in the deficit. at the end of the day the whole thing is ab